Program Development Associate At Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

Organization: Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Location: Belgium or France
Position: Program Development Associate (PDA)
Unit: Program Development Unit
Starting Date: January 1st 2022
Contract: 1-year contract subjected to a 3-month probation period. Renewal subject to funding.
Salary: Salaries are determined based on the employee’s position on the wage scale.

Do you wish to combine reporting, fundraising and program management to defending and promoting human rights? Have you always wanted to use your professional skills to contribute to the development of a respected, principled and impactful organization?

This offer will be of interest to you. Please find below a description of the position and its requirements.

Who we are:

CIHRS is a unique organization that has demonstrated its credibility in the field of human rights and democracy since its inception in 1993. During the many political storms that have come, gone, and remain ongoing throughout the MENA region, CIHRS has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to stand above the politics of national interest groups. As a growing and increasingly influential organization, CIHRS remains resolutely committed to its core principles of respect for human rights and justice.

CIHRS and its partners from across the MENA region have contributed to numerous successful international advocacy initiatives. Among many achievements, these advocacy efforts have succeeded in pressuring national governments to modify or halt legislation that threatens freedom of assembly and association, and in mobilizing powerful international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to take strong stances against repressive governments violating the basic rights of their citizens.

As a regional organization deeply embedded within the human rights movement in MENA, CIHRS fosters strong connections with civil society organizations on the ground while effectively engaging with major players in the international community. Through decades of activism, engagement, and monitoring of regional and global politics, CIHRS has gradually increased its institutional capacity and international reach, largely through the establishment of CIHRS offices in Europe and North Africa. Given its strategic operational setup and broad range of partnerships across the world, CIHRS is distinctively equipped to connect local human rights violations in MENA to global security and stability concerns.

Mission Statement

CIHRS advocates for human rights and democracy across the MENA region. Through the elevation of local voices, CIHRS contributes to the building of sustainable, prosperous, and peaceful societies.

Objectives

In order to protect public space and advocate for democratic practices across the MENA region, CIHRS engages with and encourages interest-driven actors to respect human rights, justice and accountability.

Position description

CIHRS is looking for a Program Development Associate (PDA) to join our dynamic team at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS). Working within the Program Development Unit, the PDA will report directly to the Program Development Officer in Tunis on funding opportunities, grant proposals drafting, donor activity reports, and monitoring and evaluation of CIHRS’ programs. The PDA will play a key role in collecting information from CIHRS’ growing staff, in identifying impacts of CIHRS’ engagements and in ensuring that they are communicated in an accurate and informative manner to donors, partners and staff. This position requires diligence, creativity, self-motivation, flexibility and excellent social, verbal and written communication skills. Ability to work with a multicultural and decentralized team is essential, as well as organizational skills. In addition, candidates must demonstrate ability to generate, organize and manage priorities independently.

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Development (30%)

• Identify donors, funding opportunities and track donor priorities
• Manage and update CIHRS donors database with a view to both consolidate and expand the donor base, to diversify sources of funding and secure long term funding
• Provide CIHRS management with briefings and recommendations on funding opportunities
• Draft narrative concept notes and proposals matching budget repartitions
• Develop presentations and supporting materials for donor meetings and fundraising events
• Develop communications materials for donors
• Represent CIHRS at networking events and meetings
• All such other things as may be reasonably requested from time to time or as may be necessary to the functioning of a lean, dynamic, flexible and efficient NGO.

Project Reporting (50%)

• Understand, follow-up on requirements and respect deadlines listed in grant agreements with donors
• Ensure tailored and regular communication on activities and results based on donors’ priorities and areas of support
• Coordinate with staff and partners on a regular basis to collect information on implemented actions and achievements
• Develop evaluation tools and indicators to assess the impact of CIHRS programs
• Draft qualitative donor reports and communication material that accurately and effectively portrays the range of CIHRS’s objectives, activities, and impacts
• Work with the PDO, the Finance Director and implementation teams to meet any change requests or reallocations of funding following any changes to activities
• Ability and appetite to create visual content such as films, photography or infographics will be considered an asset.

General Tasks (20%)

• Attend weekly team meetings and proactively contribute
• Attend relevant online webinars and donor presentations
• Report lessons learned from projects
• Update CIHRS’ Newsletter
• Update CIHRS’ project development files
• Assist with communication and marketing material as required.

Eligibility criteria

A successful applicant will ideally be able to demonstrate:

Essential

• English competency (C2)
• French competency (C1+)
• Degree (Post-graduate degree preferred) in Human Rights/Law/International Relations/Development/Security/Political Science/Economics/History/ or relevant field
• 2+ years’ experience in a human rights/ humanitarian/ development/ or other NGO fundraising setting, involving quality research, donor outreach, report drafting, and M&E
• Strong commitment to, and passion for, the principles and practice of human rights
• Demonstrable interest and understanding of socio-political developments in the MENA region
• Experience working remotely with minimal supervision and in cross-cultural settings
• Ability to represent CIHRS and interact with a variety of donors, including government officials
• High level Microsoft Excel, Word, Office and online applications skills (google drive/analytics/zoom etc)
• Ability to process complex processes and themes relevant to international human rights
• Ability to communicate both on_ and offline in a professional, confidential and secure manner
• A flair for creating concise, high-level English copy responding to specific technical requirements.

Desirable

• Experience working on projects in: human rights, accountability, rule of law, freedom of expression/association, justice, democracy peaceful societies
• Working knowledge of lead-applicant and co-applicant relationships in a donor setting
• Practical experience of building and managing complex high-level stakeholder relationships, including identifying and overcoming obstacles
• Experience in the systems and processes relevant to (donor) project delivery in a medium-sized organization
• Proven experience working on international donor-funded projects at all stages – planning, proposal; procurement, delivery and reporting
• Working knowledge of monitoring & evaluation principles, including logical frameworks
• Experience designing effective communications using graphics, charts and graphs
• A flair for interpreting numerical data.

Core Competencies

Individual Competencies

• S/he is: Ethical
• Proactive
• A self-starter
• Results focussed
• Detail oriented
• A multi-tasker
• Detail oriented
• Comfortable working remotely
• Comfortable in cross-cultural settings
• S/he: Respects confidentiality
• Respects online security
• Finds solutions
• Interprets tasks effectively
• Takes initiative
• Can set and meet own deadlines
• Can work under pressure
• Has high standards

Team Competencies

• S/he values: Communication
• Planning and organising
• Teamwork
• Managing change
• Managing relationships
• Patience
• Support
• Encouragement

Conditions

1-year contract subject to a 3-months’ probation period. Renewable on a 12-month basis subject to available funding and performance
Commencement: as soon as possible
Direct supervisor: Project Development Officer
Working hours: Full time – 40h/week
Paid holiday: 20 days + national holidays
Based: Belgium (Brussels) or France.

Salary

CIHRS seeks exceptional applicants and offers competitive salaries and benefits. Salaries are commensurate with employee’s experience, location and position on the wage scale.

Commitment to Equality

CIHRS is committed to ensuring equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sex, race, religion or belief in its hiring process. CIHRS is a multicultural environment that celebrates diversity. All employees are expected to promote and act in a manner that ensures a non-discriminatory, open and sensitive approach to others from different backgrounds and cultures.